1985_Big_Ten_Conference_football_season

1985 Big Ten Conference football season

1985 Big Ten Conference football season

Sports season

The 1985 Big Ten Conference football season was the 90th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season.

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The 1985 Big Ten champion was the 1985 Iowa Hawkeyes football team. The Hawkeyes began the season 7-0 and rose to the No. 1 ranking, including a 12–10 win over No. 2 Michigan at Kinnick Stadium, before losing to Ohio State. Iowa entered the Rose Bowl at 10–1 with an outside shot at a national championship, but were upset by UCLA in the 1986 Rose Bowl, 45–28. Iowa quarterback Chuck Long received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the conference's most valuable player. Long and linebacker Larry Station were consensus first-team All-Americans.

The 1985 Michigan Wolverines football team finished in second place in the Big Ten, compiled a 10–1–1 record, defeated Nebraska in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl, and was ranked No. 2 in the final AP and Coaches Polls. Quarterback Jim Harbaugh set a school record with 1,976 passing yards, and Jamie Morris rushed for 1,030 yards. Led by consensus first-team All-Americans Mike Hammerstein at defensive tackle and Brad Cochran at cornerback, the defense tallied three shutouts, gave up only 75 points in 11 regular season games (6.8 points per game), and led the nation in scoring defense. Bo Schembechler was selected as Big Ten Coach of the Year.

The 1985 Ohio State Buckeyes football team compiled a 9–3 record, defeated BYU in the 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl, and was ranked No. 11 in the final Coaches Poll. Linebackers Chris Spielman and Pepper Johnson both received first-team All-American honors. Wide receiver Cris Carter had 950 receiving yards and received first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Running back Lorenzo White of Michigan State led the conference in both rushing (2,066 yards) and scoring (102 points) and was a consensus first-team All-American. Wide receiver David Williams of Illinois was also a consensus first-team All-American.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

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Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1985 season[1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1985 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold

Pre-season

Regular season

Bowl games

Six Big Ten teams played in bowl games:

Rankings

Main article: 1985 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Statistical leaders

The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders include the following:[1]

Awards and honors

All-conference players

For the complete All-Big Ten selections, see 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[2][3][4]

Offense

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Defense

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Special teams

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All-Americans

For the complete All-America selections, see 1985 College Football All-America Team.

At the end of the season, five Big Ten players were consensus first-team picks for the 1985 College Football All-America Team.[5] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

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Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

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Other awards

Three Big Ten players finished among the top six in voting for the Heisman Trophy: Iowa quarterback Chuck Long (second, trailing Bo Jackson by one percent); Michigan State running back Lorenzo White (fourth); and Purdue quarterback Jim Everett (sixth).[6]

Chuck Long and Lorenzo White tied for the Big Ten Player of the Year award.[1] Long received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award.

Bo Schembechler of Michigan received the Big Ten Coach of the Year award.[1]

1986 NFL draft

The 1986 NFL Draft was held April 29–30, 1986. The following Big Ten players were selected in the first round of the draft:[7]

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References

  1. [1]
    "1985 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  2. [2]
    "Soph White, Station, Unanimous Choices". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1985. p. 33.
  3. [3]
    "Long nips Everett for UPI first team". The Indianapolis Star. November 26, 1985. p. 22.
  4. [4]
    "Long Nips Everett For Spot On All-Big Ten First Team". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. November 26, 1985. p. 10.
  5. [5]
    "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  6. [6]
    "1985 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  7. [7]
    "1986 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
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